Kayleigh’s been talking for some time now. And I don’t mean that babbling stuff babies typically do when they’re simply trying to mimic adults. I mean she’s been speaking English – real words and real sentences for some time. People are often caught off guard when they hear such a wee one use phrases like “open door” or “that’s a lotta cheese”. As exciting it is to have a mini genius running around, it’s also very useful. After making a few grunts and then calmly saying “doody,” all doubt as to the necessity of a diaper change is removed. And now she adds her new catchphrases of “stinky” and “oof” to hammer home the point.
But there are still some words and phrases that she has trouble with. Whether she has trouble with the pronunciation or is just stuck in a bad habit, it’s kind of fun to decipher her meaning from time to time. Here’s a sampling of her take on the English language:
- buzz – butterfly (this is even funnier when she talks about a “beautiful buzz”, a phrase more common in college)
- oh gongee – thank you (she also says “thank you” correctly, but this is reserved for when she is giving something rather than receiving)
- se-lup – sit up (this one probably has more to do with laziness)
- slungee – glasses (she seems to think that all glasses are sunglasses)
- Missy – Miffy (even cuter when she couldn’t say f or s and called her Mimmy)
- dump dee – diamond (still not sure how this came about)
- opto – octopus, ager – alligator, caliper – caterpillar (can’t really blame her for shortening some animal names)
Kayleigh also has a slew of phrases that are more or less correct, but not totally accurate. Her cry of “huggie mommy” is really a request to be picked up – not just hugged. “Walkie daddy” indicates that she wants to walk, but is open ended when is come to which parent is involved. Midway through meals “all done” indicates her desire to get out of the highchair, even though she’ll continue eating whatever is in front of her. And, of course, “bye bye” can mean “goodbye” as well as “I would like this situation to go away”.
And, of course, “bye bye” can mean “goodbye” as well as “I would like this situation to go away”.
She’ll make a great SNL airplane stewardess someday 🙂 buh, bye
When Alex was that age his vocabulary was…well, ok, he couldn’t say any words at all until he was more than 2 :-). But now he’s doing double digit addition and subtraction, so I guess at Kayleigh’s faster pace, she’ll be writing sonnets and disproving Einstein at age 4.
Is Aristotle still available for private tutoring? I heard from Phil, and apparently his son little Alexander of Macedon is doing quite well under his tutelage. I’ll try to find his phone number for you.
She’s as smart as she is cute. You are going to be a very busy father when she starts bringin’ the boys home
Thank you! I try not to brag too much but sometimes her intelligence frightens me. She’ll say things that have us honestly wondering where she picked it up or if she’s already started reading.
If the government starts mandating IQ testing of children it sees as a threat, we’re going on the run.